Tent assembly

ABSTRACT

A tent assembly includes a tent frame and a collapsible canopy unit. The tent frame includes upright posts, roof beams, tie beams interconnecting the posts, and a tent hub mounted on corresponding ones of the roof beams. The collapsible canopy unit includes a canopy frame hanging on the tent hub and operable to be disposed between collapsed and expanded positions, a canopy mounted on the canopy frame, and an operating mechanism that is mounted on the tent frame and that includes a tension member connected to the canopy frame for controlling movement of the canopy frame between the collapsed and expanded positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a tent assembly, more particularly to a tent assembly that has a canopy unit serving as a roof of a tent frame of the tent assembly.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,503 B1 discloses a waterproof shelter that includes a tent frame and a cover mounted on the tent frame and including panels secured to the tent frame using a plurality of catches.

The aforesaid waterproof shelter is disadvantageous in that it takes a lot of effort and time for assembly. When being assembled under an urgent situation, such as during rainy or snowy weather conditions, the catches are required to be operated to go through all retaining rings one by one before the cover is finally mounted on the tent frame.

Therefore, it is desirable to have a simpler assembling mechanism for collapsing and expanding a cover of a shelter or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a tent assembly that can overcome the aforesaid drawback associated with the prior art.

Accordingly, there is provided a tent assembly that comprises a tent frame and a collapsible canopy unit.

The tent frame includes a plurality of upright posts, a roof support with a plurality of roof beams disposed over and supported by the posts, and a tent hub mounted on the roof support.

The collapsible canopy unit includes a canopy frame hanging on the tent hub and operable to be disposed between collapsed and expanded positions, a canopy mounted on the canopy frame, and an operating mechanism that is mounted on the tent frame and that includes a tension member connected to the canopy frame for controlling movement of the canopy frame between the collapsed and expanded positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic side view of the preferred embodiment of a tent assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment for illustrating how a canopy frame is mounted on a tent hub;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary schematic sectional view of the preferred embodiment to illustrate how the canopy frame is disposed at an expanded position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary schematic sectional view of the preferred embodiment to illustrate how the canopy frame is disposed at a collapsed position; and

FIG. 5 is an assembled schematic view of the preferred embodiment in a state where the canopy unit is collapsed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the preferred embodiment of a tent assembly according to the present invention is shown to include a tent frame 2 and a collapsible canopy unit.

The tent frame 2 includes four upright posts 21 (only two posts 21 are shown) for forming a rectangular space thereamong, a roof support with four roof beams 24 (only two roof beams 24 are shown) disposed over and supported by the posts 21, four tie beams 22 (only one tie beam 22 is shown) interconnecting the posts 21, and a tent hub 23 mounted on the roof support.

The collapsible canopy unit includes a canopy frame 3, a canopy 4, and an operating mechanism.

The canopy frame 3 hangs on the tent hub 23, and is operable to be disposed between collapsed and expanded positions. The canopy frame 3 includes a hollow stick 31 that is connected to and that extends downwardly from the tent hub 23, that has upper and lower ends 313, 314, that defines a stick axis 310, and that has a stick wall 311 surrounding the stick axis 310 and confining a rod-sliding pathway 312 (see FIG. 4), an upper hub 32 secured to the upper end 313 of the stick 31 and formed with a plurality of angularly spaced apart mounting holes 321, a lower hub 34 that is mounted movably on the lower end 314 of the stick 31, an inner rod 33 that is mounted movably in the rod-sliding pathway 312 of the stick 31, that has a lower end 331 (see FIG. 4) connected to the lower hub 34, that is telescopically movable relative to the stick 31, and that is formed with a plurality of angularly spaced apart mounting holes 341, and a canopy supporter 35 disposed between and pivoted to the upper and lower hubs 32, 34. The canopy supporter 35 includes a plurality of roof rods 351 extending into the mounting holes 321 in the upper hub 32 and pivotably connected to the upper hub 32, and a plurality of support struts 352, each of which has a first end extending into a respective one of the mounting holes 341 in the lower hub 34 and pivotably connected to the lower hub 34, and a second end pivotably connected to a respective one of the roof rods 351.

The canopy 4 is mounted on the canopy supporter 35 of the canopy frame 3, has edges that are connected to free ends of the roof rods 351, and is disposed in accordance with the collapsed and expanded positions of the canopy frame 3.

The operating mechanism is mounted on the tent frame 2, and includes a tension member 51, a hook 52, and a pair of guide wheels 53. One of the guide wheels 53 is mounted proximate to the tent hub 23 of the tent frame 2. The tension member 51 is connected to the canopy frame 3 for controlling movement of the canopy frame 3 between the collapsed and expanded positions. The tension member 51 has an operating end 511 and a connecting end 512 that is opposite to the operating end 511 and that is guided by the guide wheels 53 for extending through the inner rod 33 to connect with the lower hub 34. One of the posts 21 is formed with a retaining hole 211. The hook 52 is connected to the operating end 511 of the tension member 51, and has a hook end 521 for engaging the retaining hole 211 in said one of the posts 21 when the canopy frame 3 is disposed at the expanded position, thereby retaining the canopy frame 3 at the expanded position.

The inner rod 33 is moved upwardly from a lower position (see FIG. 4) to an upper position (see FIG. 3) when the operating end 511 of the tension member 51 is pulled downwardly, thereby permitting movement of the canopy frame 3 from the collapsed position to the expanded position, and is moved downwardly by virtue of gravity from the upper position to the lower position when the operating end 511 of the tension member 51 is released, thereby permitting movement of the canopy frame 3 from the expanded position to the collapsed position.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, to operate the tent assembly of this invention from the expanded position as shown in FIG. 3 to the collapsed position in FIGS. 4 and 5, the hook end 521 of the hook 52 is disengaged from the retaining hole 211, thereby releasing the tension member 51, such that the lower hub 34 originally drawn tight by the tension member 51 together with the inner rod 33 are moved downwardly by virtue of gravity from the upper position to the lower position. At the same time, the support struts 452 are moved toward the stick 31 by the downward pulling force of the lower hub 34 such that the canopy frame 3 and the canopy 4 are collapsed.

On the other hand, to operate the tent assembly of this invention from the collapsed position to the expanded position as shown in FIG. 3, the operating end 511 of the tension member 51 is pulled downwardly to move the lower hub 34 together with the inner rod 33 upwardly. After the canopy 4 is fully expanded, the hook end 521 of the hook 52 is inserted into the retaining hole 211 so as to retain the canopy frame 3 at the expanded position.

It should be noted that engagement between the tension member 51 and the respective post 21 should not limited to the one disclosed herein. For example, the tension member 51 may as well be tied to any position on the tent frame 2 or be anchored using any other suitable manner, such as the operating end 511 is controlled by a gear (not shown). In another embodiment, the tent frame may have three posts 21. Therefore, the actual design of the tent frame should not be limited to the one disclosed herein.

With the inclusion of the collapsible canopy unit in the tent assembly of this invention, the aforesaid drawback associated with the prior art can be eliminated.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A tent assembly comprising: a tent frame including a plurality of upright posts, a roof support with a plurality of roof beams disposed over and supported by said posts, and a tent hub mounted on said roof support; and a collapsible canopy unit including a canopy frame hanging on said tent hub and operable to be disposed between collapsed and expanded positions, a canopy mounted on said canopy frame, and an operating mechanism mounted on said tent frame and including a tension member that is connected to said canopy frame for controlling movement of said canopy frame between said collapsed and expanded positions.
 2. The tent assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tent frame further includes a plurality of tie beams interconnecting said posts.
 3. The tent assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said canopy frame includes a hollow stick connected to and extending downwardly from said tent hub and having upper and lower ends, an upper hub secured to said upper end of said stick, a lower hub that is mounted movably on said lower end of said stick, an inner rod that is mounted movably in said stick, that has a lower end connected to said lower hub, and that is telescopically movable relative to said stick, and a canopy supporter disposed between and pivoted to said upper and lower hubs, said tension member having an operating end and a connecting end opposite to said operating end and connected to said lower hub, said inner rod being moved upwardly from a lower position to an upper position when said operating end of said tension member is pulled downwardly, thereby permitting movement of said canopy frame from said collapsed position to said expanded position, and being moved downwardly by virtue of gravity from said upper position to said lower position when said operating end of said tension member is released, thereby permitting movement of said canopy frame from said expanded position to said collapsed position.
 4. The tent assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said canopy supporter includes a plurality of roof rods pivoted to said upper hub, and a plurality of support struts, each of which has first and second ends pivotably connected to said lower hub and a respective one of said roof rods, respectively.
 5. The tent assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein one of said posts is formed with a retaining hole, said operating mechanism further including a hook that is connected to said operating end of said tension member for engaging said retaining hole in said one of said posts when said canopy frame is disposed at said expanded position. 